Walt Quist

Following a four-year enlistment in the U.S. Air Force (1966-1970) which involved a voluntary tour in Vietnam in 1968, Walt returned to the University of Rhode Island to complete his B.S. degree in Forestry/Wildlife in 1972.

He began his career with Fish and Wildlife Service in 1973 as a Biological Aide at several small NWRs along the southern Rhode Island/Connecticut Coast.  In 1975, he moved his family to Laurel, Maryland to take a wildlife technician position with the former Migratory Bird Habitat Research Lab at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.  During the next three years he was involved in various waterfowl banding projects in Canada and the northeast U.S.  In 1978, he moved on to the Northeast Regional Office as an Ascertainment Biologist with the Division of Realty.  For the next 25 years he was involved in the establishment of 17 NWRs and major expansions of many more.  In 2004, he became the Realty Officer for the Northeast overseeing all Service land acquisition for the 13-state region.  He retired in 2010 and now resides in Rowe, Massachusetts with his wife Kelle.